The nation's leading mobile-based car-hailing services provider Didi Kuaidi on Monday announced a special offer for its new ride-sharing services along with plans to get into the car-selling business. Experts said it has always been key to Didi's strategy to broaden its product line, and the latest moves clearly show this.
全国领先的手机打车应用软件提供商滴滴快的在星期一宣布将进入汽车行业,并将为新的乘车共享服务提供优惠。专家分析称,滴滴的策略目标在于扩大它的产品线,而最新的这个举措就能够证明这一点。
According to a statement on Didi's Sina Weibo account on Monday, if a customer requests a shared ride but doesn't get one, he can take a taxi alone with a 50 percent discount on the fare. If he does find a shared ride, he gets a 50 percent discount on the fare for that ride as well as another discount of up to 10 yuan ($1.6).
根据滴滴官方微博周一发布的内容,如果消费者拼车失败,他可以以50%的折扣打车。如果他拼车成功,他同样可以半价乘车,此外还将获得十块钱(1.6美元)的补贴。
The ride-sharing service of Didi Express began a test run on November 4 and was officially launched on December 1, said a statement Didi sent to the Global Times on Monday. Didi Express is one of Didi's car-hailing apps.
根据滴滴在星期一发表的声明显示,滴滴快车(滴滴旗下的叫车软件)的拼车服务在十一月四号试运行,十二月一日正式投入运营。
According to the statement, the Didi Express ride-sharing service is available in 14 domestic cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
滴滴快车的拼车服务在14个城市运行,其中包括北京,以及中国南部广东省省会广州和西南部的四川省。
The statement also said that this service has been well received by the market. During the test period, which ran from November 4 to 23, about 6.5 million orders were completed in six cities.
声明还表示这项服务已经被市场容纳。在11月4日至11月23日这段试运营期间,六个城市总共完成了六百五十万订单。
However, most customers the Global Times contacted said they have concerns about the service.
然而,《环球时报》采访到的多数消费者都对这项服务表示了担忧。
Tian Kai, a Beijing resident, told the Global Times on Monday that he would consider using the service only if the people sharing the car "don't smoke" and "aren't drunk or smelly."
北京市民田凯周一接受采访时表示,只有当拼车的人“不吸烟”,“没有喝醉身上也没有烟味”时他才会同意拼车。
Lin Deren, another Beijing resident, also told the Global Times on Monday that he wouldn't use the service because of safety reasons.
另一北京市民林德仁也表示,出于安全考虑,他不会使用这项服务。
"Besides, the service is cheap but not that cheap," he noted.
“另外,这项服务虽然便宜但也没有那么廉价。”他强调此点。
Didi also announced on Monday that it would start tapping the market for vehicle purchases. According to another statement Didi sent to the Global Times, it would sell 100 Mercedes-Benz vehicles and 100 FAW Toyota cars on its test drive app Didi Shijia on Saturday.
滴滴周一还宣布其已经瞄准开发购车行业。根据滴滴向《环球时报》提供的另一份声明,在周六它将在试运营中的滴滴试驾软件上售出100辆奔驰和100辆一汽丰田。
Zhang said that test drives are a form of pre-sale service. Since Didi Shijia has built up a large customer base, it's natural to monetize that resource by extending its service range to car sales.
张旭称试驾是另一种形式的预售。由于滴滴试驾有很大的顾客群,因此它会很自然地利用这些资源开拓服务,涉足汽车销售行业。
On Monday, US car-hailing service provider Uber also announced that it would launch an "electric vehicle day" the same day in 13 domestic cities, and passengers who choose to use their electric vehicles will get a range of discounts, according to a statement Uber sent to the Global Times on Monday.
周一,美国叫车软件Uber也宣布了它将在国内13座城市同时发起“电子汽车日”。Uber向给《环球时报》发声明称,在当天选择使用电子汽车的顾客将会得到一定程度的折扣。
Zhang said, however, that move wouldn't pose a big challenge to Didi. "Uber has a good reputation in China because of its corporate culture and marketing strategies, but I would say Didi's businesses are both wide and deep in China," he noted. "It won't be surpassed by Uber, at least in the near future."
然而张旭则表示这并不会给滴滴带来很大挑战。“Uber在中国有很好的声誉,因为它倡导合作,有优秀的市场营销策略,但是我认为滴滴在中国有广泛而深刻的市场。”他补充道。“滴滴不会被Uber压制,至少近些年不会。”